Peach tree named ‘V75024’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct variety of peach tree, which has been given the designation ‘V75024’, is a high quality mid-to-late season non-melting fleshed clingstone peach that produces high quality mid-to late season fruit suitable for processing as a canned or frozen product.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

Peach cultivar ‘V75024’ originated at the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario (now the Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph) at Vineland Station, Ontario, Canada. It arose as a single selection from the seedling population that was derived from a controlled cross of ‘Suncling’ (patent status unknown) and ‘New Jersey Cling 81’ (patent status unknown) made in 1975. A large group of these first generation trees were planted and maintained on their own root system, during which time one seedling, which was the present variety, exhibited the outstanding desirable fruit characteristics described below and was selected in 1981.

The peach cultivar ‘V75024’ was asexually propagated since 1981 by budding on peach seedling rootstock in the research nursery at Vineland Station, Vineland, Ontario, Canada. Comparative records of performance of ‘V75024’ have been kept on its performance at this site since that date. The asexual propagation demonstrates that such reproduction of the characteristics of the tree are consistent and are established or transmitted through succeeding generations.

SUMMARY OF THE NEW VARIETY

The new and distinct peach ‘V75024’ is a non-melting fleshed clingstone processing variety. The ‘V75024’ is self-pollinating and self-fruitful. It is a mid- to late-season maturing peach that produces high quality non-melting fleshed clingstone fruit suitable for processing as a canned or frozen product. It ripens 2 to 5 days later than ‘Babygold 5’ (patent status unknown), the variety it most closely resembles. Further compared to ‘Babygold 5’, ‘V75024’ has slightly shorter and narrower leaves, a flat leafblade profile, has resistance to bacterial spot, and larger fruits. DNA fingerprints of ‘V75024’ show a characteristic fragment length of 255 using SSR Pchcms2 and characteristic fragment lengths of 143, 142, 141, 140, 139, 138, and 136 using SSR UDP96-013 that are absent in ‘Babygold 5’.

The claimed variety differs from its parent, ‘Suncling’, in that: (1) Its ground skin color is cream-yellow (RHS 10) with dark red punctuation (RHS 480) coloring on approximately 75% of the fruit surface, whereas the skin color of ‘Suncling’ is golden with some blush when exposed to sun. (2) The stone of the claimed variety is a semi-freestone whereas the stone of ‘Suncling’ is a non-melting cling stone.

DRAWING

The accompanying photographic illustrations show typical specimens of the fruit and a set of DNA fingerprint profiles of the present new peach variety. The plants were grown in Vineland, Ontario.

FIG. 1. The illustration shows shoes the fruit of ‘V75024’ on the tree.

FIG. 2. The illustration shows an exterior and sectional view of a fruit divided in its suture plane to show flesh colour, pit cavity, and the stone remaining in place. The photographic illustration of the fruit was taken shortly after being picked and the colors are as true as is reasonably possible in a colour representation of this variety.

FIG. 3. Is a photograph of a gel with a series of five SSR DNA markers for ‘V75024’ compared to varieties ‘Babygold 5’, ‘Babygold 7’ and ‘Catherina’.

FIG. 4. Is a an overlay of the gel depicted in FIG. 3 with the bands detected by gel analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the new cultivar was obtained through the observation of plants growing at Vineland, Ontario. The observed plants were approximately 14 years of age, and were grown under typical soil and weather conditions for the area. Tree spacing was 12 feet within and 20 feet between rows. Color designations are with reference to The Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart. Common color terms are to be accorded their customary dictionary significance.

-   Botanical classification: Prunus persica, cv ‘V75024’. -   Tree:     -   -   Size.—Generally comparable to the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar             depending on the nature of rootstock, shaping and pruning.             For instance a 14 year old tree with commercial pruning when             grown at a spacing of 12×20 feet will exhibit a height of             approximately 12 to 14 feet and a width of approximately 12             to 15 feet.         -   Vigor.—Very vigorous and generally comparable to that of the             ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar; growth of 6 to 7 feet in height the             first growing season.         -   Growth.—Semi-erect to horizontal. As the tree matures,             weight of fruit tends to spread width of tree. Usually             pruned to vase shape.         -   Form.—Round headed when mature.         -   Productivity.—Very good.         -   Regularity of bearing.—Reliably bears a crop each year. No             alternate bearing observed. -   Trunk:     -   -   Diameter.—Generally comparable to that of the ‘Babygold 5’             cultivar. The diameter will vary with age, spacing, and             other cultural conditions. At the age of 14 years using a             density planting of 12×20 feet, the girth commonly is             approximately 12 to 15 inches measured 14 inches above             ground. Trunk diameters are larger when the trees are spaced             further apart.         -   Surface characteristics.—Semi-rough and generally comparable             to that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar and commonly with             approximately 10 to 14 lenticles per square inch.         -   Bark color.—Grey (RHS 188C) in mid-summer, darker grey (RHS             197A) in winter when dormant. -   Branches:     -   -   Size.—Average circumference 7 inches measured 30 inches             above ground. Typical for peach trees and depending on the             nature of shaping and pruning.         -   Surface characteristics.—Semi-rough and generally comparable             to that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar.         -   Color.—Grey (RHS 188C).         -   Lenticels.—Small to medium in size, commonly approximately             0.13 inch in length, commonly present at a frequency of             approximately 10 to 14 per square inch in young bearing             branches, and reddish brown [RHS 165C] in colouration.         -   Crotch angles.—Commonly approximately 35 to 45 degrees, and             can be modified to approximately 70 to 75 degrees with             supports. -   Leaves:     -   -   Size.—Length ranges from 5.1 to 6.3 inches in length             averaging 5.5 inch and slightly shorter compared to             ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar averages 6.0 inch in length. Width             ranges from 1.3 to 1.9 inch averaging 1.5 inch, and narrower             compared that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar which averages             1.8 inch in width.         -   Configuration.—Lanceolate. The tip acuminate and the base is             cuneate. The leaf blade profile is flat in contrast to the             upfolded leaves of that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar. The             angle of the leaf blade is acute at the base and at the tip.         -   Margins.—Serrate.         -   Surface.—Upper surface relatively smooth, glabrous. Lower             surface relatively smooth, except for small ridges created             by midrib and pinnate venation, glabrous.         -   Color.—Green to deep green [RHS 137A] on the upper surface             and light green [RHS 137C to 146A] on the under surface.         -   Texture.—Smooth upper surface and light pubescence on the             under surface.         -   Petioles.—Medium in length. Usually about 0.4 inch in length             and approximately 0.06 inch in thickness. Color light green             [RHS 137C]. Grooved longitudinally.         -   Glands.—Located on upper portion of petiole and lower             portion of leaf blade. Number: varies from 0 to 3,             average 2. Size: very small, average length 0.05 inch.             Configuration: reniform. Colour: greenish yellow [RHS 145A             to 151A].         -   Anthocyanin colouration.—None observed in mid-summer. -   Flower buds:     -   -   Size.—Commonly approximately 0.25 inch in diameter and             approximately 0.25 inch in length.         -   Configuration.—Generally in groups of two or more. Conical,             plump, free. Becomes elongated just before opening.         -   Pubescence.—Pubescent.         -   Color.—Burgandy-red (RHS 60D).         -   Pedicel.—Size medium. Average length 0.40 inch. Average             width 0.10 inch. Colour light green [RHS 146B to 137C]. -   Flowers:     -   -   Date of bloom.—Approximately May 7 to May 15 at Vineland,             Ontario and May 10 to May 15 to that of the ‘Babygold 5’             cultivar. Duration of flowering is short and comparable to             that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar.         -   General appearance.—Rosaceous. Large, showy, light pink             blossoms. Average length 1 inch, average diameter 1.75 inch.         -   Flower shape.—Typical of peach trees.         -   Petal number.—Five, alternately positioned with sepals.         -   Petal size.—Approximately 0.75 inch in length and 1.06 inch             in width.         -   Petal shape.—Orbicular, narrows a point of attachment. Edge             of outer surface varies from smooth to scalloped.         -   Petal color.—Medium-pink (RHS 56-C) with light stripes.             Color fades with age of flower.         -   Stamens.—Number per flower 37 to 45, average 40. Average             height 0.6 inch. Filament color white [RHS 158C]. Filament             length 0.5 inch. Anther colour purple-red [RHS 183C]. Anther             exceeds height of stigma approximately 0.05 inch.         -   Pollen.—Present. Self-fertile. Color light yellow to butter             yellow [RHS 2D to 4D].         -   Pistil.—Number: Always 1 per flower. Average length 0.7             inch. Colour light grayish yellow [RHS 149D to 150D] fades             to nearly white as flower ages. Stigma is located above             anthers. Pubescence is present on ovary.         -   Pedicel.—Average length 0.2 inch. Average width 0.1 inch.             Colour: light green to yellowish green [RHS 138B]. -   Fruit:     -   -   Date of maturity.—Commonly September 6 at Vineland, Ontario             and commonly ripens at 2 to 5 days later than the ‘Babygold             5’ cultivar. Representative dates during 2002 are September             10 for the present cultivar and September 5 for the             ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar at Vineland, Ontario.         -   Configuration.—Rounded. Symmetric along the suture.         -   Uniformity.—Very good.         -   Size.—Commonly approximately 2.5 to 3.0 inches in diameter,             and approximately 1.4 to 1.6 inch in thickness. Suture. Very             shallow and narrow suture line. The length from the base to             the apex commonly is approximately 2.5 to 3 inches.         -   Stem cavity.—Rounded to slightly elongated in suture plane.             Average depth 0.3 inch. Average breadth 1 inch.         -   Base.—Flat and rounded.         -   Apex.—Dimpled at tip, comparable to the ‘Babygold 5’             cultivar. -   Fruit stem:     -   -   Length.—Commonly approximately 0.4 inch.         -   Diameter.—Commonly approximately 0.15 inch, enlarged at             point of fruit attachment. -   Fruit skin:     -   -   Thickness.—Typical for a peach, pubescent, tough similar to             that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar, and tenacious to the             flesh.         -   Color.—Ground colour of skin is cream-yellow (RHS 1D) with             dark red punctuated colouration (RHS 45D) on approximately             75% of the fruit surface. Maximum red colouration occurs             when the trees are planted less densely and the fruit is             more exposed to the sun.         -   Tendency to crack.—None.         -   Pubescence.—Present. Greater density compared to that of the             ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar. -   Fruit flesh:     -   -   Color.—Orange-yellow (RHS 18A). Slight anthocyanin             colouration from pit cavity into flesh around stone. No             anthocyanin colouration directly under skin.         -   Firmness.—Firm to very firm.         -   Surface of pit cavity.—Flesh somewhat tight to the pit due             to the rough nature of the pit.         -   Juice.—Medium juicy, comparable to the ‘Babygold 5’             cultivar.         -   Aroma.—Slight.         -   Fibres.—None present.         -   Texture.—Non-melting, comparable to the ‘Babygold 5’             cultivar.         -   Flavour.—Intermediate acidity, comparable to the ‘Babygold             5’ cultivar.         -   Ripening.—Substantially even throughout.         -   Eating quality.—Very mild and low acid taste. -   Stone:     -   -   Degree of freedom.—Semi-freestone, the stone has strong             adherence to the flesh.         -   Fibres.—None present.         -   Size.—Commonly approximately 0.63 inch in length and             approximately 0.88 inch in width.         -   Color.—Red. The colouration darkens upon exposure to air.         -   Form.—Ovoid in shape (in same plane as suture).         -   Base.—Rounded and flat and approximately 0.25 inch in             diameter.         -   Apex.—Flat. Average length 0.1 inch.         -   Sides.—Very rough. Vary from equal to unequal. Some stones             have one side extending further from suture plane.         -   Surface.—Irregularly furrowed toward apex, pitted toward             base. Pits vary from round to elongated. One long furrow on             each side of suture, extending from base to apex. Narrow             ridges vary in length, with rough surface. Ridges             approximately 0.03 to 0.06 inch in depth.         -   Tendency to split.—None. -   Cold reaction: The ‘V75024’ cultivar is medium-hardy to hardy,     comparable to the cold hardiness of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar.     Winter injury is confined to the previous two season's growth. -   Disease resistance:     -   -   Canker (Cytospora spp.).—Moderately resistant, comparable to             that of the ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar.         -   Bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. pruni).—‘V75024’             cultivar is resistant. The ‘Babygold 5’ cultivar is             susceptible. -   Use: Processing suitable for processing as a canned or frozen     product. -   Keeping quality: Keeps approximately 5 to 8 days at room temperature     [when picked at commercial ripening] and has kept in excess of three     weeks in cold storage. -   Shipping quality: Good. Handles and ships well due to very firm     nature.

Although the new ‘V75024’ cultivar of peach tree possesses the above-described characteristics as a result of the growing conditions at Vineland, Ontario, it is to be expected that variations of the usual type and magnitude may appear that are caused by differences in growing conditions, fertilization, pruning, pest control and other horticultural practices when the new cultivar is grown in different environments.

-   DNA fingerprints -   DNA extraction

Young leaf tissue samples of V75024, Babygold 5, Babygold 7, and Catherina were collected in May and September 2003 from nurseries located near Vineland, Ontario. The tissue was immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen, transported on dry ice and frozen at −80° C. DNA was extracted according to Serrano et al., 2002 with some modifications. Approximately 50 mg of leaf tissue were ground in a Fast Prep machine (QBioGene) with 200 uL extraction buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl, 1.4 M NaCl, 20 mM EDTA, 2% CTAB, 1% PVP, 0.2% β-mercaptoethanol, 0.1% NaHSO₃) and incubated at 65° C. for 30 minutes. An equal volume of chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (24:1) was added, mixed by inversion and centrifuged at 6,000×g for 15 minutes. The supernatant was transferred to a new tube, mixed with 10 ug RNAse A and incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes. An aliquot of 130 uL ice-cold isopropanol was added, mixed by inversion and centrifuged at 13,000×g for 5 minutes to recover the nucleic acid precipitate. The supernatant was removed and the pellet was washed with 400 uL of 10 mM ammonium acetate in 76% ethanol for 10 minutes and dried at room temperature. The pellet was re-suspended overnight at 4° C. in 200 uL of sterile ddH₂O (ph 8.0) and quantified using a Spectramax Plus spectrophotometer (Molecular Devices). The DNA was then stored at −20° C.

-   PCR amplification

Microsatellite primer pairs previously developed in peach (Table 1) were synthesized by Sigma Genosys (Oakville, ON). PCR was performed in a Robocycler 96 (Stratagene) and consisted of one incubation of 5 minutes at 94° C. followed by 35 cycles of 45 seconds at 94° C., 45 seconds at the appropriate annealing temperature (Table 1) and 1 minute at 72° C. The final cycle was followed by a 5 minute incubation at 72° C. Amplification reactions were carried out in 25 uL volumes containing 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl₂, 100 uM of each dNTP, 10 pmol of each primer, 1U Taq polymerase (Sigma) and approximately 200 ng peach genomic DNA. Following amplification, 10 uL of the PCR reaction was separated on a 1% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide to verify PCR amplification. Samples were then stored at −20° C. prior to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

TABLE 1 List of microsatellite markers (SSRs) used to identify peach varieties Annealing SSR primer Sequence temperature pair Sequence (5′-3′) ID (° C.) Reference CPPCT030- TGAATATTGT- No. 1 50 Aranzana A TCCTCAATTC et al., CPPCT030- CTCTAGGCAA- No. 2 (2002) B GAGATGAGA Pchcms2-A AGGGTCGTCT- No. 3 50 Sosinski CTTTGAC et al., Pchcms2-B CTTCGTTTCA- No. 4 (2000) AGGCCTG Pchcms5-A CGCCCATGAC- No. 5 50 Sosinski AAACTTA et al., Pchcms5-B GTCAAGAGGT- No. 6 (2000) ACACCAG UDP96-013- ATTCTTCACT- No. 7 57 Cipriani A ACACGTGCAC- et al., G (1999), UDP96-013- CCCCAGACAT- No. 8 Testolin B ACTGTGGCTT et al., (2000) UDP98-407- AGCGGCAGGC- No. 9 52 Cipriani A TAAATATCAA et al., UDP98-407- AATCGCCGAT- No. 10 (1999), B CAAAGCAAC Testolin et al., (2000) BPPCT025- TCCTGCGTAG- No. 11 57 Dirlewanger A AAGAAGGTA- et al., GC (2002) BPPCT025- CGACATAAAG- No. 12 B TCCAAATGGC Pchgms1-A CGGTAAATAT- No. 13 52 Sosinski GCCCATTGTG- et al., CAATC (2000) Pchgms1-B GGATCATTGA- No. 14 ACTACGTCAA- TCCTC

-   Visualization of microsatellites

The PCR products were denatured by addition of an equal volume of sample buffer (95% de-ionized formamide, 10 mM NaOH, 0.05% bromophenol blue, 0.05% xylene cyanol). Samples were heated at 94° C. for 6 minutes and immediately placed on ice. Two microliters of each denatured preparation were loaded onto a 38×50 cm 6% polyacrylamide sequencing gel containing 7 M urea in 1× TBE buffer (90 mM Tris, 90 mM boric acid, 1 mM EDTA). Gels were run on a Sequi-Gen GT Nucleic Acid Electrophoresis Cell (Bio-Rad) for 4-5 hours at 85W. Following electrophoresis, gels were silver-stained using the SilverXpress Silver Staining Kit (Invitrogen), scanned on a HP scanjet 5470c scanner and dried on a Slab Gel Dryer SGD2000 (Savant). Fragment sizes were determined with 10-bp and 25-bp ladder DNA sizing markers (Invitrogen) using The Discovery Series, Quantity One software program (Bio-Rad).

-   Fingerprint Profile

The microsatellite primer pairs revealed genetic differences between and among the four peach varieties (FIGS. 1 and 2). Table 2 summarizes the fragment sizes detected for each of the primer pairs used based on repeated samples. There are a number of fragments that can be used to distinguish each of the four varieties using pairwise or any combination of comparisons. For example, fragments 262/264 from SSR BPPCT025 which are present in V75024, Catherina and Babygold 7 are not detected in Babygold 5. The characteristic fragment sizes that can be used to distinguish V75024 from all three reference varieties are presented in bold type in Table 2. These characteristic fragments are fragment 255 using SSR Pchcms2 and fragments 143, 142, 141, 140, 139, 138, 137, and 136 using SSR UDP96-013. These fragments are produced from DNA extracts of V75024 but are absent in Babygold 5, Babygold 7, and Catherina.

TABLE 2 Fragment sizes (bp) detected for four peach varieties using seven microsatellite primer pairs. Fragment sizes listed in bold are unique fragment sizes detected in V75024 that are not detected in the other three varieties. Peach Variety SSR V75024 Babygold 5 Babygold 7 Catherina CPPCT030 200, 198, 196, 190, 188, 191, 190, 188, 200, 198, 195, 190, 189, 187, 184 184 197, 195, 187, 185 190, 189, 187, 185 Pchcms2 255, 245 245 246 246 Pchcms5 183, 181, 174, 183, 181, 183, 181, 174, 183, 181, 171, 169, 166, 174, 171, 171, 169, 166, 174, 171, 164 170, 166, 164 169, 166, 164 164 UDP96-013 143, 142, 141, 197, 196, 197, 195, 194, 197, 196, 140, 139, 138, 194, 192 191 194, 192 137, 136 UDP98-407 205, 204, 202, 204, 202, 207, 205, 203, 205, 203, 200, 190, 182, 200, 190, 190 202, 200, 181 182, 181 190 BPPCT025 304, 265, 263, 304, 281, 312, 263, 262, 305, 264, 204, 202, 200, 279, 204, 203, 201, 199, 262, 204, 198, 196, 194, 202, 200, 197, 195, 194 202, 200, 193 198, 197, 198, 196, 194 194, 192 Pchgms1 191, 190 192, 190 192, 190 192, 190 FIG. 1. Silver stained 6% polyacrylamide sequencing gel of four peach cultivars (1 = Babygold 5, 2 = V75024, 3 = Catherina, 4 = Babygold 7) using seven microsatellites (A = pchgms1, B = BPPCT025, C = UDP98-407, D = UDP96-013, E = pchcms5, F = pchcms2, G = CPPCT030). FIG. 2. Silver stained 6% polyacrylamide sequencing gel of four peach cultivars (1 = Babygold 5, 2 = V75024, 3 = Catherina, 4 = Babygold 7) using seven microsatellites (A = pchgms1, B = BPPCT025, C = UDP98-407, D = UDP96-013, E = pchcms5, F = pchcms2, G = CPPCT030) showing banding patterns identified using Quantity One software.

-   References

Aranzana M.J., Garcia-Mas, J., Carbo, J. and P. Arus. 2002. Development and variability analysis of microsatellite markers in peach. Plant Breeding. 121:87-92.

Cipriani G., Lot G., Huang W-G., Marrazzo M.T., Peterlunger E. and R. Testolin. 1999.

AC/GT and AG/CT microsatellite repeats in peach [Prunus persica (L) Batsch]: isolation, characterization and cross-species amplification in Prunus. Theor. Appl. Genet. 99:65-72.

Dirlewanger E., Cosson P., Tavaud M., Aranzana M.J., Poizat C., Zanetto A., Arus P. and F. Laigret. 2002. Development of microsatellite markers in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] and their use in genetic diversity analysis in peach and sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.). Theor. Appl. Genet. 105:127-138.

Serrano B., Gomez-Aparisi J and J.I. Hormaza. 2002. Molecular fingerprinting of Prunus rootstocks using SSRs. J. Hort. Sci. Biotech. 77(3):368-372.

Sosinski B., Gannavarapu M., Hager L.D., Beck L.E., King G.J., Ryder C.D., Rajapakse S., Baird W.V., Ballard R.E. and A.G. Abbott. 2000. Characterization of microsatellite markers in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. Theor. Appl. Genet. 101:421-428.

Testolin R., Marrazzo T., Cipriani G., Quarta R., Verde I., Dettori M.T., Pancaldi M. and S. Sansavini. 2000. Microsatellite DNA in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) and its use in fingerprinting and testing the genetic origin of cultivars. Genome. 43:512-520. 

1. A new and distinct peach tree variety substantially as shown and described herein. 